Sophia Amoruso walked right by me while I was waiting in line so I asked her for a photo and she very kindly obliged. I was starstruck. I had to hang up on a friend and she ended up handing me a discount card because she thought that was hilarious.

(Eeep!!)

I was thinking the Nasty Gal boutique would be a middle ground in between a TOPSHOP and an Intermix in terms of quantity of merchandise and layout of the store. I wasn’t disappointed! She did a fabulous job of hand picking pieces off of the website (Nasty Gal collection, that tower of shoes, vintage Chanel and more) for the boutique. I waited about an hour to get in, but it was so worth it. There were these cool, little photo booths set up around the store, cotton candy, coffee, etc. The staff was doing a great job considering they were being bombarded with so much chaos all day. Apparently, one of the staff members was an ex-America’s Next Top Model candidate! We chatted about all the drama and how the girls started fights over closet space (lol). Anyway, I have a friend who works at the boutique and their team has been working tirelessly to get this all together. After test driving this location, Amoruso hopes to open more stores around the country. What holds me back about shopping online at Nasty Gal is the sizing. Each brand on the website does their sizing differently so it’s really a hit or miss. I’ll continue shopping online of course, but now I’m just a short drive away just in case I have to return/exchange something which is a great convenience.

In about six weeks, I’m leaving sunny, allergy-laden southern California to spend six months of my life “studying” abroad in London. Needless to say, I’m freaking the f (sorry mom) out. First and foremost, my only adult interaction with cold weather was a few days spent in Lake Tahoe last winter. Though London won’t be as cold, I’ll be there for a longer period of time. In addition, it rains like everyday there, which is in major contrast with the inherent drought my home state is in. I have no idea how to dress for this type of weather. To make matters worse, I’m allergic to down, mohair, angora, wool (I think), faux fur and real fur. Like what?!!? [Insert Game of Thrones winter is coming joke here].

I’m only allotted two suitcases. TWO SUITCASES FOR 6 MONTHS. If you’ve seen my current closet situation: the mess that is my LA apartment and the turmoil in my closet at home, you would know that I’m a hoarder. For example, I have two desks in my apartment and one is covered in clothing…you get the picture. Wrapping my head around the whole idea of “packing lightly” has my anxiety levels shooting through the roof. I am not one to pack a couple of Northface jackets and some Gap t-shirts and call it a day. I will be continuing my fashion blogging with full force, thank you very much. I will probably even be stepping it up. I can’t imagine how I’ll pack to bring stuff home at the end of it–but that’s a concern for another day.

This winter, it’s all about statement coats. This coat is one of my favorites. I’m not sure how warm and practical statement coats are, but who cares. I just want to look fabulous. Jk not jk.

a padded but not down or Northface or Patagonia parka (Moncler–I want you so badly)

large over coat (to use for layering and looking Euro-chic…is that a phrase?)

a poofy, furry, obnoxious, bright pink, impractical statement coat

ANYWAYS,

In terms of this post… I was quite dismayed when I set my alarm for 7 am on the day that Alexander Wang x H&M was released. (Because let’s be real, who has the time to go to a store on weekday for that sort of ordeal?) The site was down, and when it started working pretty much everything was sold out. H&M really needs a better method of releasing their designer collaborations. Before the collection even dropped online, pieces were listed on eBay for about 3-5x the original price. This crop top looked a bit more vivid online–the letters were actually visible. It’s also made out of this weird dri-fit sort of work out wear material. This piece isn’t easily integrated into everyday outfits and I’m not about to wear a crop top to the gym anytime soon. But I’m glad I got in on the latest fashion world craze.(You can barely see the text: “This is an Alexander Wang cropped top” soo not how it was pictured online)